Lesson 7: Pronouns 2

Affirmative, Interrogative, negative and conditional clauses

Affirmative	Interrogative, negative, and conditional clauses
some	any
There's some tea in that tin.(U)	a. (int) Is there any tea left?
I've bought some interesting books (C pl)	b. (neg) I haven't read any of these books.
	c. (cond) If anyone phones, say I'll be back at 5.0.

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'Exceptions' (some in the 'wrong' type of sentence)

a	(int) Would you like some tea?
	May I have some tea?
b	(neg) I haven't read some of these books.
c	(cond) If someone phones, it'll probably be Geofrey.

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some or any in questions:

some expects the answer yes

Was there some post for me? (I was expecting some)

Was there any post for me? (Maybe there was, maybe there wasn't)

Did you have some homework for today? (You did, didn't you?)

Did you have any homework for today? (I can't remember if I gave you any)

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much, many, a lot of, long, far

Affirmative	Interrogative, negative
a lot of (U, C pl)	much (U), many (C pl) (how much / many?)
a long way	far (how far?)
a long time	long (how long?)
There's a lot of tea left.	Is there much tea left? There isn't much tea left.
I've read a lot of these books.	Have you read many of these books? I haven't read many of these books.
It's a long way to Tipperary.	Do you live far from here? I don't live far from here.
I've been waiting a long time.	Have you been waiting long? I haven't been waiting long.

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'Exceptions' (questions expecting the answer yes)

You look tired. Have you had a lot to do lately? (That's the impression I get)

You're always late. Do you live a long way from here? (Otherwise why are you late?)

I'm sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting a long time? (I know you have)

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Real exceptions (formal usage)

Much nonsense has been spoken about the new tax. (= a lot of)

There are many problems connected with the internet. (many is often used in affirmatives)

That young man will go far. (= a long way)

The earth was long believed to be flat. (= for a long time)

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'General' and 'specific' (of a group)

'General'

someone/somebody	There's someone at the door.
anyone/anybody	(int/neg) Is there anyone at home?
anyone/anybody	Anyone can ride a bike.
no one/nobody\plain	No one is perfect.
everyone/everybody	Everyone's heard of Michael Jackson.

'specific' (of a group)

one of (sing)	One of you must have seen him leave.
some of (pl)
one of, either of (sing)	Could one/either of you help me?
any of (pl)
any one of (sing), either of(sing)	Any one/either of the accused could be the murderer.
any of (pl)
none of (sing), neither of (sing)	None / Neither of the pupils knew the answer.
none of (pl)
every one of (sing)	Every one of the cakes was burnt.
all of (pl)

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Countability

U/C pl : some any

C sing : a, one

I need some money. Here's some. (U)

Have you got any books? I haven't got any. (C pl)

I need a book. Here's one. (C sing)

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who? or which?

Who lives in that house?

Which (one) of them lives in that house?

which (one) of them lives in that house.

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some with C singulars ( = some or other)s

Some idiot opened the window.

He kept talking about some film he'd seen.

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'each' and 'every' + sing noun + sing verb - 'all' + pl noun + pl verb

These words are a common source of confusion, as each and every are only used with singular nouns and verbs.

Ö : Every dish was delicious.
û: Every dishes were delicious.

each + (sing)	Each student does an individual presentation.
Every + (sing)	Every cake was burnt.
all + (pl)	All students do an individual presentation.

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'most', 'the most' & 'most of' as quantifiers

most + (plural)	Most of the students have done an individual presentation.
the most + (pl)	Jean picked the most strawberries.
the most + U	She did the most work.
most of + (plural)	Most of the cakes were burnt.
the most as adverb	She certainly talked the most.
most as adverb	It's her behaviour that hurts most.

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'little', 'a little', 'few' & 'a few' as quantifiers

When used with the indefinite article 'a' these quantifiers have a positive meaning similar to 'some'. Without the article they have a negative meaning, like 'not much' or 'not many'.

few + (plural)	Few of the students have done an individual presentation. (= not many)
a few + (plural)	A few of the students have done an individual presentation. (= some of them have)
little + U	She did very little work when she was here. (= not much)
a little + U	She's done a little work on it already. (= some)

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'both', 'and', 'either', 'or, 'neither','nor'

These quantifiers are only used when their reference is to two of something. The quantifier 'both' (of) is used to have a positive meaning, whereas 'neither' (of) is the negative form.

a) Both Bill and Ben were at the party.
b) Neither Bill nor Ben were at the party. (also was at the party)

Here 'and' is needed as a linking conjunction in (a), and in the negative (b) the linking conjunction is 'nor'. Plurals can be used without these linking conjunctions.

c) Both of them were drunk.
d) Neither of them were drunk. (also was drunk)

'Either' is used to mean "one of the two" and is used with the linking conjunction 'or'.

e) You can have either the green or the blue one.

Note that quantifiers come before determiners (articles, possessives etc), not after them.

Ö : Both my parents are dead now.
û: My both parents are dead now.

both + (plural)	Both of the students have done an excellent presentation.
both + (sing) + and + (sing)	Both Mary and John have done an excellent presentation.
neither + (plural)	Neither of the students did a very good presentation.
neither + (sing) + nor + (sing)	Neither Mary nor John did a very good presentation.
either + (plural)	Either of them can go next, but there isn't time for both.
either + (sing) + or + (sing)	Either Bill or Mary can do their presentation, but there isn't time for both of them.

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'anybody', 'somebody', 'everybody', 'nobody', 'no one'

These pronouns refer to people, and are used in much the same way as 'any', 'some', 'every' and 'no'. The rules for negative / interrogative / affirmative usage apply in the same way, 'somebody' is used to have a positive meaning, whereas 'anybody' is the negative or interrogative form.

a) Somebody drank all the whiskey.
b) Did anybody call while I was out?
c) Everybody knows how to use a phone.
d) Nobody knows where he has gone. (also no one knows ....)

An exception:

Anybody can tell you the answer to that. (= everybody)
Maybe somebody can tell you the answer to that. (= "I don't know who")

affirmative	I need somebody to help me.
interrogative	Do you know anybody who can help me?
negative	I don't know anybody who can do this. (+ negative verb)
negative	Hardly anybody can do this. (+ "negative" adverb)
negative	Nobody can do this. (verb not negative)
affirmative	The pay cut applies to everybody.

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	MIND YOUR GRAMMAR Lesson 7: Pronouns and quantifiers
Table:
	Affirmative, interrogative, negative and conditional clauses
	Exceptions (*some* in the 'wrong' type of sentence)
	*some* or *any* in questions
	*much, many, a lot of, long, far*
	'Exceptions' (questions expecting the answer *yes*)
	Real exceptions (formal usage)
	'General' and 'specific'
	Countability
	*who?* or *which?*
	*some* with C singulars
	*each / every / all* with C singulars and plurals
	*most / the most / most of* as quantifiers
	*little / a little / few / a few* as quantifiers
	*both / and / neither / nor / either / or*
	*anybody / somebody / everybody / nobody / no one*
		back to Lesson 7 index